241
by Runner043
Summary: Steve is again captured by Wo Fat. To what lengths will Steve go to take him out. Alternate-ending/bonus-chapter.
1. Chapter 1

I've had this story idea for a while and it just won't leave me along.  
>This is not part of the Flangell re-writes I am doing.<p>

Title: "2-4-1"

Author: Runner043

Rated: T

Spoiler Alert: none

Warning: Character death

Disclaimer: all Hawaii Five-0 characters belong to CBS, I'm only borrowing them for this creative indeavor and promise to return them when finished.

Description: Nope. Don't feel like giving you one. You're just going to have to read it and find out. But I will tell you that it is set after 2.10

******* HAWAII FIVE-0 *******

"Danny. Danny!" Steve whisper-shouted, not that he knew why. Well, yeah, he was trying to get his partner to wake up, or come to, whichever way you wanted to look at it, without moving. Without moving, at all. That was very important right now. That part, the not moving, was getting harder and harder the longer he sat there on the hard concrete floor. "Danny! Come on man, wake up."

Several attempts and several minutes later, "Hmmm." Danny groaned. "W'at?" He finally mumbled as his eyes finally blinked opened and he finds himself looking down on the floor his face curently rests on.

"It's about time." Steve said in a surprisingly monotone voice.

Danny raised himself up onto his elbows and looks around at the large grey windowless room, "Where are we?" He went to sit up fully as he wiped his hands on his pants. The filthy floor definitely not to his liking, "Ow, I feel like I've got a hangover." He stated, rubbing the knot on the back of his head, as he turned towards his partner, "How long hav- Holy shit!"

"Yeah, I didn't particularly find it a pleasant way to wake up, either." Steve said.

Danny's eyes and a hand both went to his own chest out of reflex.

"You don't have one. Just me." Steve assured him.

Danny's mouth opened to speak, but it was a moment before he could manage one word, "Why?"

"Good question. Considering how many bad guys I've pissed off between the SEALs and Five-0, prob- "

"Too many to count." Danny said, cutting the other man off.

Steve could not nod in agrement, or shurg, so he said, "Right."

"Shh. I hear something." Danny said.

"Footsteps." Steve confirmed, "Three, one very heavy, stairs." He calculated.

Danny arched a brow, then wondered why he was even surprised the SEAL could figure that much out at this point. Soon the sounds of keys in the multiple locks on the door could be heard. When the door opened, two armed men entered side-by-side. And indeed Steve was right, one of them was very heavy. They parted as they stepped further into the room, revealing the third man. Wo Fat.

"Good morning, Commander, Detective." Wo Fat said in a polite manner that suited him quite well.

'Morning? Oh shit, that means we've been here all night. If I've been out all night, I wonder how long Steve has been sitting there like that.' Danny thought to himself. They had entered a crime scene last night that turned out to be a trap, leaving them locked in a loft, when suddenly they noticed a strange smelling fog being pumped in through the vents. That's the last thing he remembers happening.

"Should have figured it was you." Steve said to the man now towering over him, clearly not afraid of the SEAL at the moment.

Steve sat with his back against the wall, gratefull he had it to rest against since he had been awake for many hours by this point.

"Are you ready to tell me who Shelbourne is?" Wo Fat asked. He was direct and to the point, that's for sure.

"If that's what this is about, you will find us at another impass very soon." Steve stated.

"I take it you will not be cooperating this time, either, Commander?"

Steve gave confimation via a set jaw and steely gaze directed at his captor.

"I see." Wo Fat's words his only response. "I should inform you, Commander," He continued as he stepped back and began roaming the nearly empty room, "that I have something I did not have the last time we met." He clearly expected a response from that revilation.

Steve gave no verbal response, his gaze now focused straight ahead, no longer caring if he made eye contact with Wo Fat as he roamed. Two could play at this game.

Despite his calm demeanor, Wo Fat's anger was obvious. He then turned to his two guards who had been focused on keeping Danny in line and spoke a few words in to them in Korean before they followed him out the door.

"Wait ten minutes." Steve said.

"Ten minutes for what?" Danny inquired, finally rising to his feet and stretching. He felt stiff and achey, like he'd been asleep for way too long.

"Ten minutes before you leave." Steve clarified.

"Leave? In case you haven't noticed, Steven, you have a bomb strapped to your chest. A bomb that makes the one Hesse used on Chin look like a toy. So, no, Steven, we will not be leaving here in ten minutes." Danny was in a rant now, and Steve was sure that if his partner came with a mute button he would still understand him via the hand and arm gestures he used. Steve shook his head before he could stop himself. "No, no, no! There will be no shaking of the head, Steven! Unless you would like to blow us both up, in which case I will haunt you forever for getting me killed and taking me away from Grace." Danny acutally paused to take a breath, "Besides, you know it will take at least an hour for the bomb squad to get this thing off of you."

"Four minutes." Steve reminded his partner.

"Fou-" It was Danny who shook his head this time, "You didn't hear a word I said, did you? No, of course not. Listen to me, St-"

Steve cut Danny off, "No, Danny, I need you to listen. Three minutes. Now, when you leave this room, there are stairs,-"

It was Danny's turn to cut Steve off, "Leave this room?"

"Yes, Danny, leave this room. They did not re-lock the door when they left." Steve stated.

"Yes, I did notice that. I am a detective, you know." Danny said.

"Good. Again, when you reach the top of the stairs take note that they went to the right for at least fifty feet." Steve said.

Danny still wasn't quite sure where his partner was going with all this information but he decided not to be surprised that he could figure out the last of those details. 'He's in some SEAL or Ninja mode right now.' He assumed. "And then what?" Danny asked in a snarky tone.

"How should I know, I'm down here with you!" Steve said with an eye roll before continuing, "Once you make it to the outside, it will probably take you at least an hour to hike out of the area, probably two. Make sure you work you way downhill and try to listen for water."

"Listen for wa-" Danny paused, "Steve, are you trying to tell me that you are not coming with me?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Steve said, glad that his partner was finally catching on.

Danny crouched down in front of Steve, "I... am ... not,... leaving here... without you." He said, clear determination in his voice.

"You were right." Steve said.

As much as Danny liked hearing those words, he was pretty sure that given the circumstances he was going to regret asking this, "About what?"

"The bomb Hesse put on Chin looked like a toy compared to this one." Steve stated, "This has a motion censor, Danny. I can't move, not even an inch. I can't try to remove it, and it can't be disarmed. In other words,... you... are... leaving... without me."

Danny was silent for several moments before finally speaking, "So, um, you said there's at least an hour hike outta here?"

"Yeah. Wo Fat would have never brough us to any location that wasn't very secluded. We're probably deep in the jungle right now." Steve said.

"Steve, if it's gonna take me an hour or two to hike out of here, then find help, then get back here with SWAT and the Bomb Squad..." Danny said, not finishing his thoughts.

"Don't bother with the Bomb Squad." Steve said, a look of determination on his face, "It'll be too late."

Danny began shaking his head as the realization of what his partner said hit him fully, "No, no, no, Steven. I'm not gonna g-"

"Yes you are, Danny. You're gonna go." Steve said, his fist now clenched in the front of Danny's shirt to make sure his partner knew this was not just a suggestion, it was not just a good idea. It was an order. "And you're gonna go right now."

Danny obviously disagreed. "Steve, I can't just leave you he-"

"Yes you can, Danny." Steve paused as his partner kept shaking his head, "Danny, listen to me! I'm not going to make it out of here. Wo Fat saw to that, and we both know it." Steve could tell his partner was about to start a rant, so he cut him off, "But you,... you are going to get out of here, and you are going to go be with Grace." It was a low blow mentioning his daughter like that, but he already knew the little girl was always in the back of her father's mind. "You are going to take care of her and raise her, you are going to watch her grow up and graduate some day, and then you are going to have one doozie of a rant when she wants a career in law enforcement, and then some day you are going to walk her down the aisle and drive your future son-in-law crazy, and then some day you are going to become a grandpa, and then some day you are going to retire and sit on the beach complaining about the sand because Grace has decided that this is where she wants to stay and raise her family."

Danny was taken aback for a moment at how it appeared that his partner had given this much thought of all the stages of his life he had yet to live. Grace meant everything to him and he wanted, he needed, to be there for her. He gave a resigned nod. It was one of the hardest things he had ever had to do, even worse than watching his brother get on a plane and fly away from his life, because Steve had chose to be a brother to him. A brother he would never see again. "Alright." Was all he said.

******* HAWAII FIVE-0 *******

There is more to this story, but I'm at a good stopping point for now.  
>Will post more soon. The next chapter will probably be POV's from the guys.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

***** HAWAII FIVE-0 *****

"2-4-1" - chapter 2, written from the guys' POV

***** HAWAII FIVE-0 *****

**Danny's POV:**

"Alright." Danny heard himself finally agree, although only verbally. His heart, his mind, even his instincts as a cop, definitely did not agree.

He knew time was of the essense, Wo Fat would be back, he could even return any second, but despite this knowledge Danny could not get himself to move yet.

"Danny." Was all Steve had to say.

"Yeah." Danny mumbled, probably because he was biting his lower lip. He straightened himself and squared his shoulders before adding, "I know." Yes, he did know, there was no use putting this off. He needed to leave, now. God, this just felt so wrong, leaving his partner like this, a bomb strapped to his chest and ready to die.

Danny made a decision; he would do this Steve's way, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to try to make it back in time. Maybe if he kept telling himself that he'd believe it. Okay, maybe that wouldn't work. Maybe if he made his partner believe it that would work. Okay, he could try that first.

"Listen to me, Steve," Danny began, holding a hand up as Steve began to speak, probably wanting to tell him to shut up and leave already. "I'm leaving now, but you've gotta know one thing, Steven, one thing... I'm coming back for you. I'm gonna go find help and we're coming back for you." Danny's voice was thick with emotion and determination, but he refused to leave his partner, his friend, his brother, without hope and feeling alone. "And I want you to hang on to this for me until I get back." He added, putting his 's medal into Steve's hand before standing up.

He watched as Steve's eyes looked down at the medal his fingers rubbed over, then back up at him. Not being able to move his head, it was all he could do. "Thanks, Danny."

If it weren't for the bomb Danny would have pulled Steve into one of those manly bear huggs, just to see him squirm and make light of the situation, but there was no doing that. There would be no manly bear hugs. There definitely should be no squirming. There would be no making light of anything at all right now. All because there was a bomb strapped to Steve.

Knowing he would never see his friend again made Danny want to say something really grand, really wonderful, really significant, really memorable, maybe even poetic. But for all the ranting he had done over the years, his words did nothing but fail him now. Sure, Steve was being brave and would tell him to just shup up and leave arleady, but he wanted so much to give him something to think about while he sat there, alone. So instead, he gave his friend the only thing he was asking for, walked to the door, and left.

**Steve's POV...**

"Alright." Steve finally heard Danny say and was relieved to hear his agreement to leave. He knew it went against everything in Danny, but he also knew that doing what's right and doing what's easy are usually two different things.

Now if he could just get Danny to go, to actually leave, because he wasn't, he hadn't moved even an inch and that wasn't going to work. Wo Fat would be back any time and he needed Danny to get out of there before that happened. Of course it could be a trap, the locks had not been neglected and there was always that possibility, but Steve didn't think so. Wo Fat was after him, not that he minded colateral damage, which is what Danny would be, but Steve was fully aware of what Wo Fat was doing. He wanted Danny to leave and attempt to go for help, because he knew he would fail. He knew Steve would die. He knew that Steve would die alone, it was part of the game he was playing. Wo Fat had claimed to have something, taunting that fact, but Steve knew what it was. Time. Wo Fat had all the time he needed to play this game before killing him.

Well, Wo Fat may have had all the time he wanted, but Steve knew the longer Danny waited to get out of there the harder it would be for him in the end. "Danny." Was all he had to say.

He'd noticed his partner biting his lower lip, a nervous habit he had. Not that he would tell him that, because he would just deny it, probably go off on some rant even. There was no time for that now. And it hit Steve full force that there would never again be a time for it.

'No, Danny, there is no time for me to listen.' Steve thought to himself as his partner began to speak. He wanted to much to tell him to shut up and just go already, but he would not, or could not, deny his friend another moment, and another word in Danny's case, to come to terms with this scenario. So he listened. He listened to Danny's promise to come back for him, with help; Chin, Kono, SWAT, the Bomb Squad, every law enforcement employee he could get within a fifty mile radius if possible were Steve's guesses. Steve wanted to stop him, but two things occurred to him; first off, to stop Danny from talking would take energy he did not have nor could spare right now, second, he could tell by the emotion and determination in his voice that Danny was trying to convince himself as much as anyone. Yes, Danny definitely had a tone, that's for sure, and right now he knew exactly what that tone meant.

When he felt the 's medal being pushed into his hand he knew it was finally time to part ways. He knew it was Danny's way of saying goodbye, because he knew those were words that would just never be heard out loud.

Steve rubbed his fingers over the medal, grateful for the comfort it offered and for his partner and friend for passing it on. He felt guilty for taking it though, knowing it would soon be an unrecognizable puddle of melted silver. "Thanks, Danny." He said.

Steve wished he could have at least extended a hand in addition to those words, some sort of physical contact, as if to seal the deal they had just made. 'Damn bomb', he though to himself, wondering why it hadn't already gone off just from the way his heart was pounding in his chest.

No more words were spoken, which surprised Steve, although he was grateful. He really did need for his partner to get out of there, to be some place safe, to be anywhere but here. He was asking a lot of him, to leave him there like that to die, he knew it, they both knew it. It would be bad enough that Danny would hear the explosion, he didn't want him to see it as well, or worse, be injured by it.

With one final glace the men broke eye contact as Danny finally left the room. He listened as his partner made his way up the stairs, impressed at how quiet he was. He could tell that he went right, the same way Wo Fat had gone. Probably going to see where he is, that's good, that's what I would have done, you've got to know where the enemy is in order to avoid them. The footfalls were faint, but Steve knew Danny had come back to the stairs and continued on the other way, seeking a way out.

Ten minutes later Steve got his reassurance that Danny had made it out as he heard the heavy footfalls of Wo Fat's guards running down that same hallway. 'He'll be okay', Steve assured himself, he knew that they were only trying to scare Danny, Wo Fat never did want him. Wo Fat did however want to capture him initially, to make sure he saw Steve with the bomb strapped to him, to make sure he felt like he had failed, something Danny would live with for the rest of his life. That was part of Wo Fat's game, a game that Steve did not get to make the rules to, a game he was forced to play,... a game that would take his life.

******* HAWAII FIVE-0 *******

One more chapter to go.


	3. Chapter 3

******* HAWAII FIVE-0 *******

"2-4-1" - chapter 3 - Steve's decisions

A/N: I warned you at the beginning of this story that there is a character death. But will it be Steve? You'll have to read and find out.

A/N 2: in case you've fogotten, I'm a Stath fan. You'll know what I mean when you start reading.

******* HAWAII FIVE-0 *******

As Steve closed his eyes, he felt himself take a deep breath. Not that he needed to do it intentionally, that was not necessary, SEAL training would kick in automatically. A deep calming and focusing breath.

His eyes opened as he exhaled and it was as if he was seeing everything differently. Not that anything in his enviroment had changed, because it hadn't. Nothing inside him had changed either, it was more like a renewed sense of satisfaction and determination.

Satisfaction in the decision he had made. He could do nothing about his circumstances, nor anything to change them, Wo Fat had saw to that. But he could alter the outcome, and that would be something Wo Fat had not factored in nor could he do anything about.

Determination to take care of a few things with what time he had left. He reached for his phone, slowly and carefully. He had sensed it earlier, there in one of the many pockets of his cargo pants. His badge and gun were long gone, no surprise there, but he was glad to find his phone had been overlooked. Or maybe it was left behind on purpose. Either way, it didn't matter right now. He gently slid it from the pocket and speed dialed #7, being as careful as he could with his movements so he wouldn't trigger the motion sensors in the bomb. Steve was both grateful and luck to find that he had reception.

"Well hello, Sailor." Lieutenant Catherine Rollins answered from aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise docked at Pearl Harbor.

"Hey, Sweetheart." He replied, picturing her glancing around to see if anyone was listening.

"We haven't even set sail from Pearl yet. Miss me already?" She teased.

"Always." He answered. They had said their farewells the day before, as she was to spend some time at Pearl Harbor for meetings and briefings before boarding the Enterprise this morning and heading out to see for several days of training exercises.

"What's wrong, Steve?" She asked, a definite change in the tone of her voice.

"What makes you think there's something wrong?" He asked, knowing he could never fool her, and not sure why he was trying now.

"Steve," She cautioned.

"Yeah," He sighed, "Listen, Sweetheart, I've got a bit of a situation here."

Steve could tell Catherine was on the move as he talked to her. He could hear the hitches in her breathing as she manouvered the narrow halls of the Enterprise, probably seeking some place more private and quite for their conversation. Then, "Hey, Rollins, aren't you supposed to be-"

"Buzz off, Durran." He heard her mumble and could just picture her waving a hand in the man's general direction.

Clearly the other man was of an equal ranking, "Okay, but the Capt-"

"I said buzz off!" He heard her suddenly yell, although the phone was no longer near her mouth, "My boyfriend, who happens to be a SEAL, has a damn bomb strapped to his chest right now!" He heard a pause, although briefly, "He called to say goodbye, so ya think you could give me just a minute here!"

It was clearly not a question as he heard no other words from the man named Durran before the obvious sound of a door closing, leaving Catherine alone again.

"I'm here, Steve, I'm here." She assured him as soon as the distraction was over. "Oh God, Steve, this can't -"

"Shhh. Cath." He soothed her. Working in Naval Intelligence put her in the War Room on a regular basis, and seeing the uglieness of combat was nothing new to her. Catherine was anything but squemish. But, he reminded himself, this was much more personal. And he needed to hurry up. He didn't want to risk the bomb going off while they were on the phone together, like what happened when his father had died. He would never do that to her. He heard her breath hitch again and could tell she was trying to calm herself. "I, uh, I didn't call just to say goodbye. There's something I need you to do for me."

"What?" She immediately asked, a spark of hope in her that she could help him get out of this situation and she wondered if she should be in the computer room. "You need a satellite imagine? You need me to do a heat source check? What is it, Steve?" She asked eagerly.

"Nothing like that, Cath." He told her. He had no idea where he was, no clues available to help him. No, what he wanted was far more personal.

"Oh." He heard her breat out in dissapointment at not being asked to help him in some way.

"I need you to get something from my house." He said, hoping to redirect her attention. He could tell she had had her hopes at helping him dashed.

"Your house?" She repeated in surprise.

"Yeah, there's something I want you to have. You remember the security code, right?" He confirmed before continuing, "In the nightstand in my room you will find two small boxes." He paused, but not for long, as he didn't want her to ask what was in them. "One was my mother's, the other was my grandmother's. Pick one. You can have whichever one you want." There was silence on the other end and he could just picture her trying to process what he had just said. "Ya know, I uh, I tried that whole ring shopping experience, and I've gotta admit... that was not fun." He added lightheartedly, also wanting to confirm for her what he was getting at.

"Steve," She began. He was just trying to lighten the moment, she knew that, but it was just so hard with that image of him sitting on a hard concrete floor of some smelly old building in the middle of the jungle with a bomb strapped to his chest stuck in her mind.

"I mean, seriously, Catherine,..." He continued, wanting to continue with dialoge because it was better than hearing her cry, "... how do they expect us guys to do that? I went to so many stores, and honestly, I thought it would just jump out at me the moment I saw it. That I'd just know it was the right one. Ya know? But can it be that simple? Aparently not. I mean there's yellow gold, there's silver, then there's white gold that looks like silver. Would you want one band or two separate ones? Some of them didn't have diamonds, but it should have a diamond, or at least I thin-" He paused, "Are you laughing at me? You're laughing at me. Come on, Cath, give a guy a break. Why, oh why, do they have to have so many to chose from. Don't they know men shop for these things and we can't do more than three of anything?"

Laughing? How could she be laughing at a time like this? They were having this conversation over the phone because he currently had a bomb strapped to his chest and there was definitely nothing to be laughing about. "Oh God, I'm sorry, Steve." She offered.

"No. Don't be sorry, Sweetheart. I love the sound of your laugh and hearing it right now is,... " He paused, reminding himself that she would remember these words for the rest of her life. "... soothing." He finally decided on saying.

She took a deep breath, trying to slow her heart rate some, not that she expected it to work. But she would try, she needed to focus. "You, uh, you sounded a bit like Danny for a moment there." She managed to say.

'Great. Just great.' He thought to himself, but would never admit that he agreed with her assessment. "Anyway, I had decided that I would ask you with one of those two rings, but I couldn't even decide which one. So I ended up having them both cleaned and inspected by a jeweler, and, uh, well, that's as far as I got. So,... so now it's up to you to chose which one you want. Oh, and will you give the other one to my sister for me."

At that moment Steve heard footsteps coming down the stairs. The same three sets as before. There was not the sound of keys this time, just the door opening. The men entered just as before, Wo Fat apparently one for fan-fare.

"Pardon me for enterupting, Commander." Wo Fat said with a blank stare as he came and towered over him once again.

"Just taking care of some final business before we have our little discussion." Steve replied, hoping for just a few more minutes.

Apparently Wo Fat thought he had the advantage with Steve's current mind set of taking care of some 'final business' as he was inclined to let him continue. "You have ten minutes, Commander. Then you will tell me about Shelbourne."

There was no response given by Steve as Wo Fat turned abruptly and walked out, followed by his two guards.

"Cath," Steve said as soon as the door had closed again, knowing that she had heard the conversation.

"Steve, are you alright?" She asked, 'Oh, what a stupid question' she chastised herself.

"Yeah, I'm okay, Sweetheart." He assured her before picking up their conversation as if it had not been interrupted. He did not want her to dwell on the severity of what was going on, "I've got to tell you, Cath,... there has been so much in my life that,.." He paused, searching for words he had not been prepared to have to say today, "... well, from black ops and misisons to stop terrorists and arms dealers, to dealing with every kind of criminal, to traveling all over this planet and never never knowing where I was going to be the next day,... you have been the one good thing in all of that, the one constant in my life that I could count on." He paused again, trying to control his own breathing as the reality of never seeing her again, never holding her again, seemed to hit him full force, "Oh God, Cath, I'm gonna miss you." He breathed out as he closed his eyes and invisioned her face and the scent of her hair.

There was a long pause and he expected she would have said something by now, "Cath?"

"Ask me." She requested.

"Cath," He began quietly, and she could tell by the tone of his voice what he was going to say, so she cut him off.

"Ask me anyway." She repeated and he could hear the sadness in her voice.

"Ya know, I uh,... well, okay, so I didn't exactly have the details worked out, but I sort of presumed they would include a romantic dinner, and, ya know. Candles and wine, maybe on the beach." He said apologeticly, but got no reply, which was okay, because he knew he wouldn't. "Catherine Rollins, I love you. Will you marry me?"

"Yes." She immediately answered. And dispite the sadness of the situation, saying that single word made her smile.

Just two minutes later found him making another call after saying his final goodbye to Catherine, which had been so very hard on both of them, but there was one more thing he needed to tend to before he put his plan in motion.

"Berris and Takae." The receptionist answered.

Ten seconds later... "Miss. Takae, I canno-" Mr. Berris began. He was normally a mild mannered man, but his partner's neice, aka their secretary, had just barged into his office, interrupting his dictation of a very important contract.

"Mr. Berris," She began as she rushed to his desk, "Lieutenant Commander McGarrett is on line one for you."

"Miss. Takae, plea-"

"It's urgent, sir." Briana Takae insisted, as she went ahead and picked up the phone and held it out to him.

William Berris pushed the botton for line one, "Commander McGarrett."

"Sorry to bother you, sir, but I have a bit of an urgent situation that cannot wait." Steve began, then briefly explained the situation.

"Miss. Takae, you will be witness to Commander McGarrett's verbal signature to his yet unwritten will and testiment." Berris informed his secretary, who nodded as she took a seat with pen and paper in hand. "Commander, this phone call is being recorded for accuracey and will be typed up as soon as possible. Rest assured that your wishes will be carried out as you are about to direct." Berris assured Steve, then confrimed a few details for confirmation that it was actually him calling. "You may begin when ready, Commander."

There was only a brief pause before Steve spoke, "First off, the papers I picked up at your office, are partially filled out and in the top desk drawer at my home." He paused, this felt so weird, but it needed to be done and it gave him a sense of peace. And right now he was just glad this was a process he had already begun, "Most importantly, I want everything in my bank account, checking, savings, CD's, IRA's, insurance, ... basically anything financial to go to my fiance Lieutenant Catherine Rollins." He paused, realizing he had acutally smiled when he spoke of his fiance. "As for the house and everything in it, that goes to my sister Mary Ann. Well, it's half her's anyway. Dad had the house paid off years ago, so the only financial obligation is insurance and taxes on the property. If Mary should decide she doesn't want the house, I hope she will give it to either Catherine or my partner Detective Danny Williams. It would be great for Danny to get out of his apartment and have a nice house for he and his daughter Grace. Speakin of Danny, I want him to have the Marquis. I should forewarn you to expect him to rant about that, but tell him I said it's time he learned how to deal with temprimental classics. My father and I were supposed to work on that car together, but it never happened. Maybe Danny can teach Grace how to work on cars." Steve paused again, giving only a moment to acknowledge the image of the brown eyed little girl with pig tails. "Let's see, ... there is a trophy case in my old bed room, and in that case is a football. That is the football I broke Chin Ho Kelly's high school passing record with. I'd like Chin to have it, and please tell him,... tell him that my father was right. He'll know what you mean." Another pause, giving Steve a moment to remember meeting Chin again after all those years. "Next, there's something I want Officer Kono Kalakaua to have. Out in my garage, above the work bench, you will find a surf board. My dad was quite the surfer at one time and took me to many competitions when I was young. My father used that surf board to win a local amateur competition, then it was signed by Kekoa Malahono, right after he won the Pacific Waters Championship back in 1981. I want Kono to know how proud of her I am at her accomplishments, both on the board and behind the badge." Another pause, to remember meeting the woman on the waves that first day. "And then for Joe White, Uncle Joe, my father's best friend; there is a shadow box hanging in the master bedroom I want him to have. In that box is my father's badge and gun, and also his Certificate of Retirement from HPD. And tell Joe,... tell him that his obligation to my father is complete, I'm not seventeen anymore." Another pause as his cell phone indicated a text message. "Um, give me a sec here." He requested as he looked at the text.

'I do' was all it said.

Steve smiled and quickly typed back, 'I do, too', before retuning to the conversation.

"Uh, well, that's about it, I don't own much else." Steve said, resuming from where he had left off. It was true, he wasn't a materialistic person, keeping things that had meaning and not much else. "Well, there is my badge, assuming it ever gets recovered. Oh, and my dogtags. I guess they can decide among themselves who gets those."

After a pause and Berris assumed Steve was finished, he asked, "Is there anything else, Commander McGarrett?"

"Probably." Steve stated with a smirk, "Not that I can think of it right now, though."

Mr. Berris and Miss. Takae both understood, giving a verbal will under such circumstances was very hard. Not that they had ever had anyone call with a bomb strapped to them before, but they had done deathbed kinds of things in the past. "Take your time, Commander. We will continue to record until after you have hung up."

"Just," Steve began again, trying not to cringe at Berris' use of the word 'time' which was something he did not have the luxury of, "tell them how grateful I am to have had them all in my life. They are all special to me and I hope they already know that, even though I wasn't very good at saying it. Emotionally constipated; that's what Danny says I am. But you can tell Danny that my final face is one of determination." There was a long pause, "That's all." Steve finally said as he heard the footsteps on the stairs.

"Is there any contact information we will need?" Berris asked. The reading of a will was made much harder when those in it could not be reached easily.

"No, Sir. All of that is already in the papers at my house. But have my team contact Commander Wade Gutchens. They should tell Commander Gutchens; SEAL Team 5, Beamer, Diego 4. He'll know what it means." Steve concluded as the door opened again.

"It's time to talk about Shelbourne." Steve heard Wo Fat say as he entered again with the same fan fare as his previous entrances.

"I've gotta go." Steve said to Mr. Berris and hit the end button before the man could reply. He glanced at the phone in his hand as he gently laid it on the floor beside him, thinking briefly about Catherine's text but not allowing his mind to dwell on the 'till deat do us part' part.

Wo Fat came closer and stood near Steve's feet as he spoke, "Goodbyes are hard. Are they not, Commander?" He asked as he noticed Steve glancing down at the phone. He wanted to rub it in as muc as possible.

"They can be." Steve said, not really answering the question. He wondered if Wo Fat thought he was scared or nervous. The man had caught him once before, but clearly did not learn much from the experience. Steve on the other hand had learned a lot.

"You will tell me about Shelbourne now." Wo Fat demanded without raising his voice.

"You mean about the man who killed your father." Steven asked as he looked up, as if to clairify, but not. He knew Joe had fed him a lie about being Shelbourne and killing Wo Fat's father, but also knew there would be no getting the truth out of him, at least not at the time. But playing along with the lie would work in this scenario, so that's what Steve would do.

The look in Wo Fat's eyes was one of anger and hatred and Steve noticed him clenching and unclenching his fists. He was sure that if not for the bomb that those fists would be doing double-time, making impact with his ribs. He could definitely work with this.

"So tell me, Wo Fat, did you design this bomb yourself?" Steve asked. Wo Fat was clearly taken by surprise by the question, and the diversion. "Because you did a much better job than Victor Hesse did." Steve added.

"I am glad that you are amused, and so easily impressed, Commander." Wo Fat said as he began to roam a bit. Steve stared straight ahead, not bothering to keep an eye on the man, he knew there would be the same stone faced expression and set jaw. The eyes would be the only thing to give the man away.

"Well, I don't know that 'amused' quite describes it. But I must say that the motion sensors are much more sophistocated. And the clips are much stronger, obviously making it harder to get off without detonation." Steve complimented. "Much better than the cattle prod approach of last time." He added.

"Your procrastination will not work, Commander. Now tell me about Shelbourne." Wo Fat demanded again as he turned to continue his pacing.

"Victor Hesse was one of your men, and the man who killed my father. Now I know who killed your father, and you expect me to tell you. Now why would I do that?" Steve taunted, needing the man to come closer.

"You will tell me what I want to know, or you will die." Wo Fat said.

Steve had to resist the urge to smirk at the obsurdity at the man's words. After all, what was he gonna do, come over there and hit him or shake it out of him. Nah, this would turn out the way he wanted. "So, does that mean that if I answer your question that you're going to remove this?" He asked, gesturing to the bomb.

Wo Fat gave no answer, nothing but a glare. His eyes again giving him away.

"Didn't think so." Steve said, gently leaning his head back against the wall behind him. "So, since you're gonna kill me anyway, maybe I'll just take that little secret to the grave with me. Then you will never know who killed your father." A look of 'what-are-you-going-to-do-about-it' on his face. Yes, if Danny was there, which he was glad he wasn't, but if he was he would definitely be able to identify the face.

Wo Fat stepped closer to Steve's left side. He was almost close enough for Steve's plan to work.

"Ya know, I think I am going to have to decline your offer." Steve continued, "I don't really see any point in telling you. Because if I did, then you would just have another person to kill, and I just can't have that."

Wo Fat crouched down next to Steve's side to speak through gritted teeth, "You will tell me, or you will die right now!"

Steve really was impressed that Wo Fat had cracked so soon. Losing controle, even enough to raise his voice was something he had expected to take much longer. Now there was just one more step to take for his plan to work. He just hoped his legs, which were actually quite numb at this point, would cooperate since he had been sitting on that cold hard concrete floor for so many hours.

"Tell me who Shelbourne is!" Wo Fat demanded as anger poured from him over Steve's defiance.

"No." Steve declined, looking straight ahead in continued defiance.

"Then are you ready to die?" Wo Fat screamed at the side of Steve's face.

Steve slowly turned to look at the man, then asked, "Are you?"

As soon as those words left Steve's mouth he dug both of his fists into the front of Wo Fat's shirt, and pulled as hard as he could to his right, rolling both of them over so that Wo Fat was down on the concrete with Steve on top of him, their faces only inches apart. This new vantage point lasted for only a moment before the explosion, but it was enough to see something in Wo Fat's eyes that he doubted had ever been there before; fear.

Steve had been right, the last thing Wo Fat ever saw was the look on his face; determination.

Game over. Mission accomplished.

******* HAWAII FIVE-0 *******

So, honestly, how many of you saw that coming? That Steve would die, but take Wo Fat with him?

There is one more chapter to wrap this up.

In regards to Kekoa Malahono winning the Pacific Waters Championship... I just made that up. So nothing but coincidince if there really is a PWC or someone named Kekoa Malahono.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - Aftermath

A/N: first off, thank you for all the favorites and alerts. You make my muse very happy and keep me typing.

A/N 2: For those of you who had figured out what Steve's plan was, then you obviously know where I got the title of this story from. It made sense that he would be in SEAL mode right to the very end.

A/N 3: And finally, because you have stuck with me through this story, even Steve's death, I shall reward you with one more chapter that is an alternate ending.

** HAWAII FIVE-0 **

**TWO DAYS AFTER THE EXPLOSION...**

"Excuse me, Detective Williams." Sargeant Duke Lukela said as he stuck his head in the door to the late Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett's office.

Danny spun in Steve's chair he was currently seated in. He had been turned around, staring at the model ship his late partner kept in his office. "Hey, Duke." He said somberley.

Lukela noted that the emptyness had not left the Detective's tone or expression, not that he had expected it to. Everyone in Five-0 and HPD missed Steve McGarrett, but no one more than Danny. "There is a Commander Wade Gutches and a Lieutenant Tiko Durbin here to see you."

"Uh, yeah, sure. Send 'em in, Duke." Danny said as he stood from Steve's chair and walked aroud the desk to greet the men as they entered.

"How ya doin', Wade?" Danny asked. The men had taken to calling each other by their first names after their little trip in Tangerine.

"I've been better." Gutches answered honestly as he accepted Danny's hand to shake. The truth was it hurt like hell to loose any one of the SEALs. He was just good at that whole comparmentalizing thing. "Danny, I'd like you to meet Lieutenant Tiko Durbin."

Danny turned to greet Durbin, "Lieutenant Durbin."

"Detective Williams." Durbin greets as he shankes the man's hand. "I wish we were meeting under better cirucmstances."

"Better cirucmstances?" Danny mumbles out, looking between the two men, wondering if he should know something he obviously doesn't, and definitely hoping another shoe wasn't about to drop. He'd had enough, to say the least.

"Danny, Lieutenant Durbin was better known to his SEAL Team 5 as 'Beamer'." Gutches clarifies as they nod in understanding.

There was no mistaking how the man had earned the nickname. Tiko Durbin was a tall slim man with very dark skin. One could quickly and easily figure out that if he were dressed in all black that the only part of him anyone would be able to see at night were his eyes.

"Oh, right. Sorry. It's been a,... uh,-" Danny trails off, not finishing his sentence. "Well, you know." He adds with a hand wave.

"I understand, Sir." Durbin replies, because he does. "I served under Lieutenant Commander McGarrett for several years."

The respectful use of Steve's full title did not go unnoticed by Danny. "Then you were lucky." He said, conviction now in his voice.

"Yes, Sir, I was." Durbin agres, wishing he word 'was' didn't sound so,... permanent.

"So, Wade, what are things looking like for Thursday?" Danny asked, turning again to the man.

"Beamer here, and the other three surviving members of SEAL Team 5 have all arrived and are ready to serve as the pallbearers on Thursday." Gutches assured.

Danny didn't bother to say anything further on that topic. "So, we went to Gutches here," Danny began, gesturing first to one man, then turning to the other "then he went to SEAL Team 5, and now you're here. So, the last step is to find out what Diego 4 means."

"Well, Sir, there's only so much I ca-" Durbin began, only to be cut off.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop right there. If I hear the word 'classified' right now,-" Danny said, hands waiving about, but didn't finish.

"It's not classified, Sir." Durbin assured him. "Diego 4 was something specific to our SEAL team. Something that started out as, well, an inside joke really. I simply cannot tell you the story behind it's origin. What I can tell you, is what it means."

"Good. That's good. So, what's it mean?" Danny asks, rocking back on his heels in anticipation. This little mystery had been bugging him since he had heard about it.

"The 'Diego' part means that Lieutenant Commander McGarrett knew he was going to die." Durbin said. Danny's flinch not going unnoticed. "The '4', indicates that it was his goal to take as many Tangos as he could with him."

"Tangos?" Danny said out loud. He knew what a Tango was and wasn't even sure why he made it sound like a question. No, if he had a question, it would be how anyone could consider knowing they were going to die to be an inside joke. _'Must be a SEAL thing.'_ he told himself and let it go.

"Yes, Sir. A 'Tango' is an enemy combatant." Durbin explained unnecessarily, although he didn't know it.

Again, Danny did not bother to say anything further on that topic.

"In other words," Gutches said, with his shoulders square and his jaw set, "Mission accomplished."

**MEANWHILE...**

"I'm glad you picked that one." Mary Ann said, referring to her grandmother's rings that sat in the dining room table where she and Catherine were currently having coffee.

"Put I haven't picked one yet." Catherine said in surprise, since she hadn't picked between Mama and Grandmother McGarrett's rings yet.

"Yes, you have." Mary Ann said, a teasing tone to her voice. "You've keep looking at that one."

Catherine smiled, "Yeah, I guess I have been. It's just so pretty." She paused, picking up the small velvet box that held the rings. "Is it alright with you?"

"Steve told you to pick whichever ones you wanted." Mary Ann reminded her.

"Yeah, I know he did. But whichever one I don't take, gues to you. So, I want you to be happy with the decision, too." Catherine said, setting the box back down.

"Actually, I'm glad you picked Grandma's rings. I have,... oh, I don't know, it's just that," She paused after her stumbling words before continuing, "I guess the idea of having mom's rings, just makes me feel closer to her."

"Did you ever know your Grandmother." Catherine asked, not as familiar with the McGarrett family tree as she wished she were at a time like this.

"Yeah, I did. But, she died when I was just a kid and Steve was a lot closer to her than I was." Mary Ann answered. "I think Steve would have been happy with your choice."

"I hope so." Catherine said, picking the box back up and taking removing the rings.

"May I?" Mary Ann asked, and saw the confused expression on the other woman's face. "On behalf of my brother." She added while extending her hand.

Catherine saw it as an unusual request, but the woman sitting across from her was one of her few connections to her fiance. She nodded and handed the rings over.

"On behalf of my brother." Mary Ann said as she slipped both rings onto Catherine's finger. "Guess this makes us like sisters-in-law now, huh."

**FOUR DAYS AFTER THE EXPLOSION...**

The four remaining members of SEAL Team 5 carried Steve's flag-draped casket from the hurse to his final resting place beside his parents. They were followed by Joe escoring Mary Ann, Danny escoring Catherine, and Chin escoring Kono.

The path they took was lined on both sides with Navy personelle standing at attention and saluting as the casket passed their position.

The very large gathered crowed watched as the four SEALs placed the casket on a stand, before the pastor began to speak, followed by several others. It had been decided that shorter, more personal comments should be saved for the gathering at the Governor's mansion that was to follow.

The American flag was then folded precicely into it's triangular shape and presented to both Catherine and Mary Ann as they each extended hands to accept it and placed it partially across both their laps.

The four SEALs then began to carry out the SEAL tradition of pounding their gold Tridents into the dark mahogany wood. The procedure continued for the next twenty minutes as many other SEALs lined up to do the same and soon the Navy logo engraved in the center was surrounded by Tridents.

The predominant military presence in the large gathering was probably used to the Firing Of The Volley gun salute, but those not accustomed to it winced at all three firings.

There was a heavyness over the crowd as Taps was played, and when it was finished Danny, Chin, and Kono all stood and placed a floral spray of tripical flowers on top of the casket to represent the Five-0 Task Force. Then Joe stood and placed a lei to one side of the arraingement, and Catherine stood and placed a dozen red roses on the other side.

The four SEALs took their places again as pallbearers, and with great ceremony lifted Steve's casket from it's stand and placed it over the open grave while everyone once again stood at attention and in absolute silence as it was lowered into the ground.

**ELEVEN DAYS AFTER THE EXPLOSION...**

It was nothing new to William Berris, Esquire; walking into a room of people seated at the large round table in his law office's conference room. Men and women, young and old, some native islanders and others from the mainland, a true cornucopia of life. But always with one common denominator; grief.

Berris took note that all eyes were on him as he took his seat at the table, his secretary Briana Takae to his right, everyone mentioned in Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett's will taking up the remaining chairs.

Perhaps it was because of the uniquie way this will had been completed. Perhaps it was because Berris knew he could have been the last person McGarrett had spoken to before he died. Perhaps it was because Berris himself was a Veteran. Whatever the reason, this gathering of loved ones for a will reading was definitely harder than most.

Berris had met several of of the people now in the room with him, but not all, so after introducing himself and Miss. Takae, he asked the person to her right to introduce himself and give a brief mention at how he knew Lieutenant Commander Steve McGarrett.

"I'm, uh," Chin paused, 'So much for me being the calm and composed one' he thought to himself before being able to continue, "I'm Lieutenant Chin Ho Kelly, Five-0." He paused again, feeling only slightly calmer. Getting his own name out of his mouth was a major accomplishment, but at least it could be done without much thought. Now came the harder part, "I first worked with Steve's father, John McGarrett. That was back when Steve was just entering high school and John and I would go to his football games. I held the passing record at Kukui High School for several years, until Steve broke it." Chin paused, the small smile on his face surprised him, but it felt good to think of something happy, even just for a moment, "After John died and Steve returned to Hawaii, he asked me to join a Task Force he was putting together. We've worked together every since."

After a long pause it was obvious to Berris that that was all Chin had to say so he gestured to the lady seated next to him to do the same.

Kono nodded in understanding and hoped she could get through the next few sentences without throwing up. She took a deep breath before speaking, "I'm Officer Kono Kalakaua, Five-0. I met Steve before I had even graduated from the police academy. He needed an undercover and my cousin Chin recommended me. I've worked with Five-0 every since." The words had come out surprisingly fast, but she'd gotten through her little schpeel without throwing up, so that was good enough as far as she was concerned.

Again, Berris could tell when someone was finished. He'd learned a long time ago not to give folks to long to speak or ponder, or they'd be there all day. He gestured to Danny to go next.

When it came to communicating, Danny was about two things; words and hands. His hands cooperated fully as they went from making a speeple pressed to his lips, to white-knuckled fists, to running through his hair, then back into fists again. But in this rare instance there were no words to accompany the movements. After a very long moment, he finally closed his eyes with a heavy sigh and managed to speak, "Steve, was, um, ... Steve was my partner." was all he got out before pressing the heels of his hands into red-rimmed eyes that had shed many tears over the past week, although never in front of anyone, and it was clear that he was not about to let that change now. No one had to know Danny for long to see that he was an emotional person. He knew it, and they didn't have much choice but to know it once they'd met him. But in this case, Danny had decided to be strong. Strong for Grace, strong for Chin, for Kono, for Catherine, and Mary, and Joe. Strong for everyone but himself, and that meant that he couldn't let any of them see him weak. Speaking at this moment was not conducive to that decision. "I'm Detective Danny Williams." He managed to say next, realizing that he'd skipped that part. But that was okay with him, he'd gotten the most important information out first, and that was definitely not about him. "Like Kono, I also met Steve when he returned to Hawaii. I had been assigned to investigate his father's death, which did not make Steve happy, so he decided to make me his partner." Another pause, another deep breath, another moment to calm himself, "Steve started out a partner that day, a business colleague, so to speak. But he ended up a brother and a friend."

Mary grabbed a tissue from one of the many boxes on the table before nodding to Berris, indicating that she knew to go next.

Mary began twisting the tissue almost immediately as she felt all eyes on her. She didn't need it for drying tears, but for something to do, something to keep her hands occupied. The tears had came and went shortly after she'd gotten the call from Danny, leaving only a few to be shed at the funeral three days ago. She knew that didn't sound nice, but after losing her mother, then being sent away and never seeing her father again before his death, and now losing her only brother,... well, the truth was, it had hardened her, and she knew it. "I'm Mary. Mary Ann McGarrett. Steve was my big brother." She said, surprised to hear how shaky her voice sounded. "I, um, I hate to admit it, but I hadn't seen him in a long time. Since he sent me back to the mainland, almost a year ago." She paused, somehow the words sounded worse out loud, "We talked, though. We talked on the phone every Christmas, and every April 19th." Turned out Mary was wrong; she did have more tears.

The pattern of going around the table was pretty obvious, Berris thought, but the lady he knew to be named Catherine was clearly more concerned with comforting Mary at the moment. She was speaking quietly to her as Danny rubbed gentle circles her back. Fortunately Berris was a patient man and after a few minutes Mary was much calmer and Catherine looked to him for confirmation that it was her turn.

"I'm Catherine. Lieutenant Catherine Rollins." She began, then looked down at the ring she was spunning on her finger. "Steve and I met over eight years ago, when he worked in Naval Intelligence. Since we both worked in the Navy that meant looking forward to being on leave." She paused, an expression on her face that seemed reminescent, and everyone assumed she was thinking about a time long past and probably a place far away. She was. "Our, um, 'dating', was anything but conventional, but no matter what, we were always together on his birthday." She said and could see the surprised looks on their faces, not that she would expect anything else. "Well, as you know, most of Steve's work was cla-"

"Classified." She heard everyone around the table mumble in unison.

She smiled at the thought of them all knowing Steve so well and nodded in confirmation before continuing. "Well, one of those classified missions included Steve leaving no man behind." She paused as she knew they would all know what she meant. Steve was a dedicated SEAL and would never leave a fallen brother behind. "Well, the man he brought back was the son of a captain who was just grateful to have-" She looked up from her hands where she had been spinning the ring, again, realizing her words had not ended up where she wanted them to go. "I mean, well, the Captain was very grateful and since his son and Steve shared the same birthday, he made sure Steve got his birthday off on leave every year." She explained. "It became the one time we could count on being together." She decided to stop there, with a happy thought, not wanting to explain for the umpteenth time how Steve had proposed to her over the phone just before he died. She took another moment to be grateful she'd had the presence of mind to record their conversation, but she would never tell anyone else that. It was a special memory she chose to keep only for herself.

Berris looked to the man next to him, the water bottle in his hands long emptied and now nothing but a barely identifiable twisted piece of plastic.

Joe put what was once a water bottle down on the table, forcing his hands to still before he spoke. "I'm Joe White. Steve's former Commanding Officer. I trained him in the SEALs." A brief pause was all that was necesssary for the man that had called on his own training and skills to compartmentalized his emotions. "Steve's father John was a close friend and I was privilaged to be known as Uncle Joe,... until his kids outgrew it, that is." He added with a smirk towards Mary, who managed a small smile back at him. "When Steve was sent to the mainland, John asked me to keep an eye on him. I made a promise to my friend that day... and in all honesty, I'm not sure if I kept that promise or not. Steve would say I did, but I'm not so sure." Joe paused at thinking his friend might be disappointed in his failure to keep his son safe, or at least his lack of success anyway. "Steve and I spent so much time together that I developed a habit of calling him 'son', and he never said a word about it." Joe paused again, SEAL training kicking in again; controle the breathing, compartmeltalize everything, focus. Failure. "Damn that was a good feeling."

**Forty minutes later...**

Berris didn't want to play the recording of his conversation with Steve, but after a brief who-gets-what, every one of them had insisted. Claiming that they needed to hear his voice one last time. He knew it wasn't a good idea and advised against it, but it hadn't worked. He was right, it wasn't a good idea, and dispite the empty tissue boxes they all still disagreed.

"Danny," Mary said as everyone else filed out of the room. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Sure." He replied, still trying to contain the shakyness of his voice, "What's up?"

"I wanted to talk to you about the house." She began, then clearly needed several deep breaths before continuing, "I, um, I don't want it." She finally managed to say. "I mean-" A whooshing noise could be heard as she exhaled heavily, as if releaving stress. "I mean,... my life is in Los Angeles now. And although this is a nice place to visit, I'm not sure I can do that for a while. Oh God," Another pause, another deep breath as she tilted her head back before being able to continue, "Ya know, for years, I wanted nothing more than to come back here. After mom died, and all the years after, but it never happened. And now, I'm here, because my only brother is dead." Another long pause was needed, but Danny understood how difficult it was. "I've already spoken with Catherine, but she isn't home often enough to take care of a house. Besides, you have Grace, and we'd both like to see you have a home you can raise her in."

"Um,.. wow, Mary. That's really nice of you to think of me, and Grace." Danny paused, more than just emotions playing in his mind. "But in all honesty, I'm not sure a house on the beach would be in my budget. I mean, I appreciate it and all, it's just that-"

"Danny," She stopped him, "Steve gave you his half of the house, and I'm more than willing to sell you my half at a very reasonable price."

"Oh." Was all he said in surprise.

"I'm sure we can work something out. In fact, it'll probably come out close to what you pay in rent anyway." She said, "We could have Mr. Berris write something up for us." She suggested, but the truth was that she had already talked to the attorney and found out what she could sell the house for, while making sure it didn't go over what Danny was currently paying in rent. She really wanted him to have that house.

"Yeah, sure. We could talk to Mr. Berris." Danny agreed.

**THIRTY-THREE DAYS AFTER THE EXPLOSION...**

Chin, Kono, Danny, Catherine, and Joe were all gathered at the McGarrett house. Or maybe it was the Williams house now,... no, it would always be known as the 'McGarrett House' no matter what. Mary, along with one of Steve's dog tags and a few momentos, had already flown back to Los Angeles the day before. She promised to return for a visit, some day, when the pain wasn't still so fresh. Part of the selling agreement was that there would always be a guest room in the house for her or Catherine whenever they wanted. Danny was most happy to comply.

Before everyone pitched in to help the Williamses move in, Danny insisted that a few things come out first. To start with, the trophy case from Steve's childhood bedroom. Although Steve left only the momentous football to Chin, Danny wanted him to have the entire cabinet, contents and all, which included several tophies and Steve's letterman jacket - although Danny could not figure out why anyone would own one of those in Hawaii. Chin was most grateful and it meant a lot to him, something he made sure Danny was well aware of as they loaded the cabinet.

"Steve was right." Danny stated, causing Chin to look up at him as he closed the back of his SUV. "He was right about, his father being right."

Steve had been correct in saying that Chin would know exactly what he meant. Steve had trusted Chin because his father had trusted him first, and that trust had never been broken. Words escaped Chin at that moment, so he just nodded in acknowledgement and appreciation.

Second, was the surf board Steve wanted Kono to have. "Here, this goes with it." Danny said, handing her a framed photo of John McGarrett clad in boardies and standing on the beach with his young son, the surf board stuck in the sand behind them. "He really was proud of you, ya know."

"And I was proud to have worked with him." Kono stated, feeling the slight sting at the back of her eyes. She had cried so many tears over the past weeks that it didn't seem even possible to be able shed any more.

"Come on, let's get this board and rack down." Danny said, hoping the distraction would help keep the tears at bay. Seeing how Steve's death had effected his friends, his ohana, just made the loss seems so much more difficult to bare.

"You keep the rack, Danny." Kono said, "I've got several. Besides, you're going to need it to store surf boards once Grace completes her lessons."

Danny nodded in concedement, more than in agreement, then ran his fingers over Malahono's autograph before turning with Kono to leave the garage.

He paused on his way out to look at the Marquis. Steve had been right, again. Danny had ranted about it, and the idea of he and Grace working on it together the way Steve and his father should have, then he'd ranted even more at the though of Grace driving it,... or more precicely, Grace being old enough some day to drive, because no father ever wants to think about that. But before Danny knew it he was smiliing, smiling at the thought that he would teach his daughter how to change the oil, and the spark plugs, and that he would surely end up pushing that thing, that 'temprimental classic' along the highway at some point, probably several times in fact. Yes, Danny would honor Steve's wishes. He and Grace would finish what Steve and his father never managed to do. Then some day he and Grace would drive that car... in Steve's memory.

Next came the shadow box from the master bedroom for Joe. It felt strange taking something out of the room that had become Steve's. "Here, Joe, Mary wanted you to have these, too." Danny said as he handed over a small wooden box.

Joe flipped open the top of the box to reveal John McGarrett's military medals. A small nod was all he could manage as he closed the box and looked up with watery eyes. Comparmentalizing was not always a lot of help when it came to the death of a friend, a son, and that's exactly what it felt like to the retired military man.

Joe slowly closed the box and set it on top of the shadow box. He felt Danny's hand on his shoulder as he wordlessly picked them up and exited the room, still not convinced that he had completed his obligation to his friend,... or his friend's son, even if he hadn't been seventeen anymore.

Danny exited the back doors to see Catherine leaning against the railing of the lanai. She had that distant far away look, again. He was used to seeing her spin the rings on her finger, but not today. Today she used one hand to hold the small wooden box that held Steve's military medals to her chest, and with the other she aimlessly swung his dog tag that hung on the chain around her neck. It was safe to assume she hadn't taken it off since Mary gave it to her.

"Are you ready for us to start moving your and Grace's things into the house?" She asked without breaking her gaze on the ocean.

"In a minute." He said, taking a few steps closer to her. "How are you doing?" He asked, care and compassion obvious in his voice, or his 'tone', as Steve would have said.

She turned to finally look at him, "Better." Was her simple answer, not that he expected anything else. But she surprised him anyway, "I gave most of the money to a children's fund." She noted the surprised look and explained, "It's for children of fallen SEAL's, to help them go to college."

Danny smiled, "Steve would have liked that."

Catherine turned back towards the ocean before speaking again, "I'm taking a trip soon." She paused to let the news sink in, as much to herself as to Danny, "Steve and I traveled the world, with our jobs, and on leave. The first place we ever went to together, was Rio."

"And you're going back." Danny stated.

"That's where we fell in love." Catherine stated.

**Late that afternoon...**

Danny stood alone in the master bedroom, a shadow box in his hands. It had been true, that Steve McGarret was not a materialistic person, keeping only things that had meaning and not much else. Although Danny appreciated the furnishing the house came with, which was probably more than everything he had ever owned in his entire adult life all put together, there were two things that he was glad to have been given, glad that they had been recovered; Steve's badge and gun.

Now that he and Grace's things had been moved in, not that there was very much, there was just one finishing touch. Danny hung the shadow box on the wall where the previous one had been. He wanted, no, he needed, to see it every day, to remember his partner, his friend,... and it would help him heal.

A few minutes later Danny stepped out onto the lanai to the sound of voices and Kono laughing as Catherine spoke to her. Probably another story about something that crazy SEAL had done. He took note of Chin manning the bargecue as Joe dug Longboards out of a cooler. Danny realized he was smiling, and that was okay, because this is his ohana. This is part of the healing process,... and Steve would have wanted it this way.

** HAWAII FIVE-0 **

*Don't forget... there will be one more chapter that is an alternate ending. Does that mean that Steve won't die? Well, I promise nothing, only that it will be a different ending.

*I originally wanted to add the alternate ending here, to the end of this chapter, but did not want to delay this posting any longer.

*I Researched SEAL funerals and Tridents, which is quite fascinating by the way, and I just want to say that I hope I did Steve's funeral justice. When to stand and when to salute is quite specific in it's etiquete.


	5. Chapter 5

My thanks to all of you for the Adds and Favorites, and for sticking around for this extra chapter.

I've got a few options with this alternate ending;  
>* Steve still dies, but does not succeed in taking Wo Fat with him.<br>* Steve does not die, but Wo Fat does  
>* Neither one dies<br>* Danny dies instead

Hmm, decisions, decisions. Well, I'm just going to start typing and see what I feel like at the time. Regardless of which I choose, I hope you enjoy it. We begin with the slightly re-worded ending to chapter 3...

**HAWAII FIVE-0**

"Tell me who Shelbourne is!" Wo Fat demanded as anger poured from him over Steve's defiance.

"No." Steve declined, looking straight ahead in continued defiance.

"Then are you ready to die?" Wo Fat screamed at the side of Steve's face.

Steve slowly turned to look at the man, then asked, "Are you?"

As soon as those words left Steve's mouth he dug both of his fists into the front of Wo Fat's shirt, and pulled as hard as he could to his right, rolling both of them over so that Wo Fat was down on the concrete with Steve hovering over him, their faces only inches apart. This new vantage point allowed Steve to see something in Wo Fat's eyes that he doubted had ever been there before; fear.

Steve had been right, the last thing Wo Fat would ever see was the look on his face; determination.

**MEANWHILE...**

Danny's heart was beating so fast and hard all he could hear was his own pulse in his ears above the sound of his heavy footfalls on the rough terrain of what had eventually become a path in what Steve had assessed correctly,... a jungle.

Thirty-seven minutes. That's how long it had been since he had left his partner in that dark and dingy room with a bomb strapped to his chest. Thirty-seven minutes of running as fast as he could between trips and falls. The uneven terrain making it hard to stay upright, something his knee would pay dearly for later. He knew that if he would just slow down that he wouldn't fall so much, or twist his ankle, again, but those things were not important right now. Steve was. _'No. Steve is. Steve is important. Present tense. Steve is not going to die.'_ Danny reminded himself as he raced on.

It was another eleven minutes before Danny spotted the two hikers just East of him on another trail. He called down to get their attention as he raced towards them. After a brief, make that very brief, explanation, followed by names, phone numbers, and instructions, the two hikers raced off back down the path they had just come up, with promises to call the numbers they had been given as soon as they reached the Ranger Station.

Knowing that help was on the way, Danny about-faced and ran back the way he had come as fast as he could. Back towards the structure that reminded him of the bunker in North Korea. That similarity included a dark, dirty, windowless basement, and surely all the bad guys were obsessed with the same shade of drab gray paint. Not a pleasant association, that was for sure. But this time he knew exactly where his partner was and despite the protests of both his knee and ankle he pressed on.

About half way to his destination, Danny heard two things at once; the sound of multiple ATVs coming from slightly behind him and to the West, and an explosion, the direction of which he did not want to think about.

Unsure if those coming were Wo Fat's men or just off road enthusiasts, Danny chose to position himself on a different path to find out.

Just two minutes later Danny was leaning against a tree. Well, hiding was more accurate. He would be able to see the ATV's riders in time to know if he should get their attention or remain hidden. Not that he would want to remain hidden if the latter was the case, as he would very much like to have a set of those wheels right now so he could get back to Steve quicker, but multiple vehicles meant multiple riders, and he was unarmed.

_'I'll bet Super SEAL would know several ways to take out multiple riders without them even knowing what hit 'em._' Danny thought to himself just before they came into view.

"Chin! Over here! Kono!" Danny shouted as he waved his arms to get their attention.

Chin was on the back of the first ATV that was driven by a Ranger, while Kono was driving the second ATV, which she slowed down only enough for Danny to jump on the back of before speeding up again.

The explosion had been huge, as smoke and flames could be seen from over a mile away. Kono slowed to pull up behind the Ranger who had stopped at a small clearing on an elevated ridge with a decent vantage point of what was once a structure.

"Should we continue?" Chin asked, the thought of getting close enough to the building to smell burned flesh making him swallow hard.

"Any reason not to?" Kono asked. She knew none of them would ever give up as long as there was even a chance to rescue Steve.

"Only that if anyone fled the building before it exploded, that puts them out here with us. So we need to scope out the area and proceed with caution. The question is; should we proceed on foot?" Chin explained, while being glad there were multiple things to think about to keep his mind off the one thing he didn't want to think about.

"Might as well keep the wheels." Danny chimed in. "Anyone who fled has already heard us coming anyway."

"Unless that makes us a target." Kono thought out loud. There was no chance of helping Steve if they were taken out.

"Good point, Cuz." Chin replied.

"You folks might wanna check this out." The Ranger spoke up as he handed the binoculars he had been using to Chin.

"I've got movement." Chin confirmed. "Down below, about a half mile ahead."

"Can't see who or what it is." Kono said, as she had retrieved a pair of binoculars form the ATV's storage. "Or how many." She added as they watched the foliage move, the only indication that someone, or something, was there.

"It's gotta be human. Too much movement to be an animal." Chin noted.

"Well, whoever it is then, is headed this direction." Danny said, as Kono had handed the binoculars to him.

"It could be Wo Fat's men, coming to head us off." Kono stated.

"Only one way to find out." Chin said before nodding to the Ranger.

A few minutes later the Ranger was still in the lead, but it was now Danny who followed behind. Chin and Kono had gotten off to hide. Danny had used the excuse that Kono had an advantage on foot as she had worn proper hiking boots while he was in his usual dress shoes. But the truth was his knee and ankle both hurt. But he wasn't about to admit that part.

The movement in the bushes had stopped, and that meant one of two things; whoever they were looking for was hiding from them, a possible ambush came to Danny's mind, or they had simply changed direction and were now on a different path.

After another fifty yards they stopped the ATVs to regroup.

"Nothing?" Chin asked as he approached.

"Nothing." Danny confirmed.

"Hey, guys, over here!" They heard Kono calling from nearby.

"Now that sounds like something." The Ranger piped in.

"There's someone down there." She informed the guys as they approached. They looked down the revine to where she was indicating.

Okay, so there was a third option; they were injured and unable to move.

"I can't see who it is with all the foliage in the way." She added.

"We've gotta get down there. It could be Steve." Chin said, ready to take on the descent.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Danny insisted. "We have no idea who that is. Or even if it's a trap."

"Yeah, it could be a trap." Kono said, "Or it could be Steve."

"Yes, it could be." Danny agreed, "And if it is, and if he's hurt, he'll be in Rambo mode and will come to swinging. Which will only result in one of us ending up the rest of the way down to the bottom of this slippery slope with him."

"I've got an idea." Chin said, but was cut off before he could tell it.

"Hey, you gonna stand up there yappin' all day, or is someone gonna at least throw me down a rope?" They heard a familiar voice call up.

To say that relief at their boss, and more importantly, their friend, being alive flooded all of them would be an understatment.

Only minutes later Chin had descended to bring Steve a harness and rope. "It's good to see you alive and in one piece, brah."

Steve had to smirk. If only they knew what he'd just been through, "It's good to be seen, Chin." He said, grateful to even be alive.

"Whao, wait a minute." Chin said, gesturing to Steve's arm, "That looks pretty nasty."

"Nah, I'm good." Steve lied. "Let's just get out of here." He added, not wanting the full extent of his injuries know, at least not yet.

Kono was grateful she had gloves in her pack as she took up and secured the slack each time Danny pulled on the rope that brought Steve closer to the top. Chin had insisted that Steve go up first.

Danny's outstretched hand wrapped around Steve's wrist for the final tug that brought his partner up onto stable ground. Then Steve leaned his head and shoulder against a tree while listening to another ATV approach as Chin was being brought up.

"Don't touch him!" Chin called out to Kono as he removed the harness once back on stable ground. Steve only looked up at him with piercing eyes. "I knew there had to be a reason you were so agreeable about going up first." He said as he walked over to Steve.

"It's not as bad as it looks, Chin." Steve said, still leaning against the tree.

"What's not as bad? Someone wanna clue the rest of us in." Danny requested in his I'm-about-to-start-a-rant tone.

"Yeah. What's going on?" Kono asked, as her cousin had stopped her from giving her boss a we're-so-glad-you're-still-alive hug.

"You'll see." He said in a surprisingly calm tone before he turned to Max, who was just arriving on the back of another ATV driven by another Ranger.

"Commander McGarrett, it's good to see you alive." Max greeted as he awkwardly dismounted the vehicle, yet while taking note of the blood on Steve's left arm and the bruises on his face.

"Alive, yes. But we may need your assistance in the 'well' department, Max." Chin said as he gestured for the man to move around where he could see Steve's back.

"Oh,... my." Max stated as he sucked in a breath. "That looks, um, painfull, Commander McGarrett."

"Are we back to formalities, Max?" Steve asked.

"Oh. Um, yes, sorry,... Steve." Max mumbled, remembering how he had been asked by the man to call him by his first name. "Apparently my calling you by your first name is tied to your need for medical assistance."

Steve smired, "Will you just pull the damn thing out, please." He requested, while ignoring the 'oh shit' and 'oh my God' comments from Danny and Kono.

"Actually,... Steve," Max said, pleased that he had remembered to call him by his first name, "it would be best if I didn't." This was of course in reference to a piece of metal sticking out of his back, right below his right shoulder blade.

"Max," Steve said with a bit of an exasperated tone, and Danny would surely say he had the face to match, "I would do it myself if I could reach."

"Again, Steve, it would be best if it was not removed. By either one of us." Max stated firmly. He could tell the man was in more pain than he was letting on, and the blood loss was not helping matters. "Although the piece that is sticking out is a good seven inches long, I cannot tell how far it is embedded. And although it does appear to be at a downward angle and not high enough to have hit a lung, removing it could cause more damage and blood loss than should be treated in this setting."

"Danny." Steve said through gritted teeth, although he was still looking at Max.

"Oh no. No, no, no, no, no, Steven. I am not pulling that thing out of you." Danny stated adamately. "Absolutely not." He added for good measure with the wave of an arm, as if it had been even necessary.

"Steve, let's just get you to a hospital." Chin, the always calm voice of reason, stated.

"Well then, you're going to have to bring the hospital here, because I am not moving from this spot until that thing is out of me." Steve declared.

Much to Max's disapproval, and everyone else's as far as that was concerned, he soon found himself cutting away the bloody fabric of Steve's ripped up shirt from around the piece of metal.

"Steve," Max began with the shake of his head, "now that I have a better view, I can see that the metal made a long cut on your back before entering. You will require a lot of stitches as well."

"You got a first aid kit with you?" Steve asked without even looking over his shoulder.

"Of course." Max answered, as if it should be obvious, and of course he was glad to be offering this type of service instead of his usual variety.

"Start sewing." Steve replied.

Max just wordlessly nodded as one of the Rangers handed over a first aid kit. He heard Steve exhale and could see he was forcing his muscles to relax as he removed the piece of metal. Which turned out to be a fragment of the building's aluminum siding that had flown in the explosion. Once he had most of the bleeding stopped, he irrigated the large gash and picked up the needle.

"Okay, Steve, while Max perfects his sewing skills," Danny began, while crouching down low in front of Steve who was sitting on a downed log and leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, "why don't you tell us what happened." He requested, hoping to at least distract his partner from the pain.

Steve exhaled heavily, not at all surprised at his partner's attempt to distract him, or his curiousity. "When Wo Fat returned," He began, trying hard not to wince at the pain from Max's skills, "he kept asking me about Shelbourne. Over and over. Then at one point I realized that he was standing close to me. Too close. Too close for him to be worried about being blown up. In other words-"

"In other words, there was no motion sensor on the bomb." Kono deduced.

Steve nodded, which he immediately regreted. "Keep going, Max." He said, after feeling that the man had stopped, then continued. "Correct, Kono."

"So you took the vest off and made a break for it?" Danny guessed.

Steve was about to shake his head 'no', then thought better of it, "No. Even though there was no motion sensor, there was still no way for me to get the bomb off. The one Hesse put on Chin was designed by Wo Fat, so I knew that it would blow if I tried to take it off."

"Then how did you get it off?" Danny impatiently asked.

"You would know by now, if you'd stop interrupting me, Danny." Steve said in a monotone, teasing voice.

Danny's hands immediately went up in moch-surrender before wordlessly gesturing for Steve to continue.

"Just like the previous one, it also required a print to disarm it. So, when Wo Fat made his final mistake of coming too close, I took him down." Steve paused, remembering and almost cherishing the moment, "You should have see his face, the look in his eyes. It was fear."

"Wo Fat afraid of something." Chin snorted out, "It's about time."

"So, did the vest blow after you got it off?" Kono saught to confirm her assumptions.

"Nope. There was a second bomb in the building." Steve informed them all, "Danny, remember those two tag-alongs?" He asked.

"Yeah. Big and Bigger." Danny replied.

Steve nodded, again wishing he hadn't, "Well, after they heard the snap of Wo Fat's neck, they turned into two sniveling babies and said I had to let them go because the building was set to blow." He said.

"But you already knew that. Didn't you?" Kono asked at seeing a very pleased with himself expression on her boss' face.

"Yes, Kono, I did. Another of Wo Fat's mistakes." Steve confirmed while turning to her. "He looked at his watch, twice. Dead giveaway."

"Of course." She agreed, although truth was she didn't quite correlate how looking at one's watch, even twice, would indicate that. But she wasn't about to ask Super SEAL that.

"Anyway, the room where they had been earlier," Steve paused while looking at Danny, who remembered the location.

"Yeah. Up the stairs, to the right, fifty feet." He repeated.

"Right. Well, that's where I found our guns and badges, and the disarming device. But not the second bomb, and I wasn't about to go looking for it." Steve said.

"So, where are Big and Bigger right now?" Chin asked.

"I found Bigger just outside the building. Well, actually I landed next to him when I was thrown by the explosion. He had a several pieces of metal sticking out of his back, and one out of the back of his head." Steve said. "I have no idea where Big is, though."

"All finished, Steve. This dressing should keep the wound clean for now." Max announced as he put on the final piece of tape. "Since your arm can wait, let me just wrap it for now. Detective Williams, this would be one time I wish you still wore a tie."

"Huh? A tie? Why is that, Max?" Danny asked.

"If you still wore a tie, I would ask to borrow it, as it would make a good tourniquet for Steve's leg." Max said.

"There's nothing wrong with my leg, Max." Steve said, surprised at what the man had said.

"Oh. There is blood on the side of tour pants." Max stated with a gesture.

"Oh, that." Steve said, "Actually, that's not mine."

"It's not? Do I want to know who's it is?" Max asked.

"Actually," Steve began, as the reached into the side pocket of his cargo pants, "It's Wo Fat's." He stated as he placed an object in Max's gloved hand.

"What the hell." Danny said as he took a step closer.

"Steve,... is that-?" Chin began to ask.

"Wo Fat's thumb." Kono finished for her cousin.

"Well, yeah. I didn't need all of him to disarm the bomb." Steve clarified as Max continued to hold the object up while he was clearly inspecting it as if fascinated.

"Just,... his thumb." Danny stated while rubbing a hand around his jaw.

"Exactly." Steve agreed. "Time was of the essense and I wasn't about to lug his whole body up those steps unnecessarily."

"So you just-" Chin began, but again didn't finish.

"Exactly." Steve again agreed.

"This is quite fascinating." Max stated while still holding up the object for his inspection. "You will have to tell me some time, Steve, how you removed it with so little tissue damage."

"Uh, yeah, maybe some other time." Danny said, not wanting to think about the twenty-seven ways Super SEAL would know how to remove someone's body part with so little tissue damage. "For right now, how about we just get out of here. In fact, how about we get you out of here and get you to a hospital." He suggested while turning from Max to Steve.

"I'm find, Danny." Steve said, as expected by all of them.

"No. No, my friend, you are not 'fine'." Danny began to rant with an up and down wave of his arm to indicate Steve's general appearance, "Although we all appreciate Max's medical expertise and sewing skills," He paused to look at Max, who smiled in appreciation of the compliment, "you still have smaller cuts all over your back, your arm still needs to be taken care of completely, don't think we haven't noticed that blood running down from your hairline there," Another pause as Danny gestures to just behind Steve's right ear, although Steve does not even bother to acknowledge it, "not to mention the need for antibiotics. Lots of antibiotics, after being in this place. Antibiotics that are available in a hospital, Steven."

"Thank you, Danny, for your suggestion. I will take it into consideration." Steve replied with a smirk.

"You're not going to the hospital, are you, Steven?" Danny deadpanned.

"I'll tell you what, if someone will give me a ride to Pearl, I promise to stop by the Naval hospital while I'm there."

"Pearl?" Kono asked, "Why Pearl?"

"I need to see Catherine." Steve said, taking in his apprearce and lack of a shirt since Max had to cut if off of him, "Oh, that reminds me, I need to swing by my house first."

Danny chose to keep his mouth shut on the topic at that point. He knew that once Catherine saw Steve, she would take him over to the Naval hospital herself. This of course made him feel better.

After stopping by the Ranger Station and giving their thanks for the assistance, and making arraingements for Max and the CSU to head back up to retrieve the bodies, the team headed to their vehicles. Kono would give Danny a ride home while Steve rode with Chin.

"Thanks for the help, Danny." Steve said, turning to his partner before they parted ways.

"Any time, partner." Danny replied before turning towards Kono's car.

"Oh, and Danny," Steve called out, "you'd better get some ice on that knee."

Danny just waved over his shoulder as he kept walking. He wasn't at all surprised that Steve had noticed the slight limp he had attempted to conceal.

After stopping by his house briefly, Steve borrowed Chin's phone as they drove towards Pearl. His call to Catherine had been mostly one-sided as he explained what had happened and that he would be there to see her soon.

His second call was to Joe, "Joe, it's Steve. We need to meet and talk. Wo Fat is dead and it's time for you to tell me the truth about Shelbourne."

**HAWAII FIVE-0**

I hope you enjoyed this alternate ending. Origianally I had planned the option of Danny dying instead of Steve, but there were just too many requests for it to be this way... and I like to make my readers happy.

Since the whole Shelbourne storyline isn't over with until the S2 finale, and most of us realize that Joe was lieing to Steve when he claimed that he was Shelbourne, I decided it was time that Steve called him on it and demanded the truth,... now that Wo Fat is dead.

I still wanted Wo Fat to die, and die at Steve's hand, hence the broken neck (and missing a thumb, too). Plus, Steve would feel like he had completed his father's work.

Did Steve just clean up and change clothes while he was at home, or did he grab the ring, too? I left that part open for you to decide.


End file.
